1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for providing Internet services based on user's location information in a communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The communication system has location information of a corresponding user, which is provided using information on a base station of a cell accessed by a subscriber station or using a location information server.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional wireless communication system.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional wireless communication system roughly includes a communication system 100, the Internet 120, an Internet service provider 130 and a subscriber station 140.
The communication system 100 includes a Location Information Server (LIS) server 102, a device capability server 104, a user profile server 106, a Quality of Service (QoS) Server 108 and a billing server 110.
The communication system 100 acquires location information of the corresponding users using the LIS server 102. The other elements except for the LIS server 102 are not closely related to the present invention, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein for the sake of conciseness.
In addition, the communication system 100 provides an Internet Protocol (IP) connection to the corresponding subscriber station 140 via a Radio Access Station (RAS) 112 in charge of connecting a physical air section, an Access Service Network Gate Way (ASN GW) 114 in charge of a Medium Access Control (MAC) section of an access network, and a Connectivity Service Network (CSN) 116 in charge of making a connection up to a network layer. Herein, the RAS 112 corresponds to a Base Station (BS) of the cellular communication system, the ASN GW 114 corresponds to a Base Station Controller (BSC) and a Serving GPRS Supporting Node (SGSN) of the cellular communication system, and the CSN 116 corresponds to a Packet Data Service Node (PDSN) and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) of the cellular communication system.
The subscriber station 140 can be any type of terminal including, for example, a Personal Computer (PC), a Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), a Portable Multimedia player (PMP) and a digital camera.
The Internet service provider 130 includes an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) server (132) for providing Internet-based television programs to the subscriber station 140 via the Internet 120 connected thereto, a music/video streaming server 134 for providing music/video streaming services for transmitting/receiving music and video data in realtime, a search server 136 for searching for the information required by the subscriber station 140, an advertising server 138 for providing advertisements and an other service server 139 for providing other services.
The Internet service provider 130 is connected to the corresponding subscriber station 140 via the Internet 120 using the IP connection provided by the CSN 116 of the communication system 100, and provides various Internet services, such as search, IPTV and Streaming services, to the subscriber station 140 via the servers 132 to 139 that provide the various services previously described.
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional method for providing an Internet service by an Internet service provider. It is assumed herein that a subscriber station now located in New York searches for a pizza shop using the search service.
Referring to FIG. 2, the Internet service provider includes a search server 200 for providing the search service required by service users, the Internet 210 via which the service users can access the search service, a wireless communication network 220 in which the service users are located, and a user interface 230 with which the service users can input a search request to the search server 200.
If the service user inputs ‘pizza’ to the search item in the user interface 230, the wireless communication network 220 sends a search request for ‘pizza’ to the search server 200 (see 202).
Upon receipt of the search request, the search server 200 makes a search for the search item ‘pizza’, and then sends the corresponding search result 235 to the service user (see 204).
It is assumed herein that the service user now uses the wireless communication network 220 in New York. However, because the Internet service provider, providing the search service using the search server 200, cannot acquire location information of the corresponding service user, it may provide the service user with the search result 235 including the searched pizza shops only in its searchable areas, for example, Dallas, Las Vegas or San Jose, regardless of the location of the service user.
As described above, in the conventional configuration where the Internet service is provided, the corresponding user receives not only its necessary information but also unnecessary information, causing a delay in the search time and causing a load due to the unnecessary information.